Are the Penguins poised to start dynasty?

By Mike Prisuta, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Sunday, June 14, 2009

DETROIT — There's more where that came from.

Majority co-owner Mario Lemieux suggested there are more Stanley Cups within the grasp of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Co.

"These kids are 21, 22 years old," said Lemieux after the Pens captured the third championship in franchise history Friday night with a 2-1 victory over the Red Wings in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. "They'll be around for the next 10, 15 years if they want to. They have a chance to do something special in Pittsburgh if they want to stick together."

The Penguins' first championship since 1992 tied them for eighth place in NHL history in all-time Stanley Cups won.

The Chicago Blackhawks and New Jersey Devils have also won three Cups.

The Montreal Canadiens are first with 23, followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs (13), the Red Wings (11), the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers (five) and the New York Islanders and New York Rangers (four).

The Oilers captured the first of what turned out to be a run of five Stanley Cups in seven seasons by beating the Islanders in 1984, the last rematch Stanley Cup Final prior to the just-completed Penguins-Red Wings epic. The Islanders had won their fourth consecutive Cup by beating the Oilers in 1983.

The Red Wings were gunning for their fifth Cup in the 12 seasons in which one has been awarded since 1997 and second in a row after beating the Penguins in six games in the 2008 Final.

The NHL hasn't seen a repeat Stanley Cup champion since the Red Wings in 1997 and '98.

Although the current Penguins have often been compared to the 1980s Oilers, Pens general manager Ray Shero wasn't thinking "dynasty" after dethroning Detroit.

"We're gonna see what happens," Shero said. "There are some great teams out there. But right now, we're the best team in the NHL. We won the Stanley Cup."

Lemieux looked almost immediately to the future after seeing come to fruition a vision first contemplated after the Penguins drafted Malkin second overall in 2004 and Crosby first overall in 2005.

"That's been our goal all along," Lemieux said. "We sign all these guys to long-term deals to keep them together and put the rest of the pieces together. I like our chances going forward.

"Anytime you have Crosby on your team, and Malkin and (Marc-Andre) Fleury and (Jordan) Staal, the talent that we have gives you a chance to do something special."

Although injured and unavailable for much of Game 7, Crosby was healthy enough to accept the Cup from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Upon becoming the youngest captain to hoist it over his head — Wayne Gretzky was 23 when he won Cup No. 1 with Edmonton — Crosby, 21, handed the trophy to 38-year-old Bill Guerin.

"His career can be complete now," Lemieux said of Crosby. "It means everything. This kid, that's all he thinks about, winning championships. His whole life is about training and playing hockey and practice. He's a great kid. He's a perfect hockey player. He's amazing.

"I wish I would have had that discipline back then."

Guerin received the Stanley Cup 13 years and 353 days after first winning with New Jersey in 1995, the third-longest differential in NHL history, and then handed it to Sergei Gonchar.

"Detroit is a great hockey team," Guerin said. "We hold them in the highest respect. This was the best playoff series I've been a part of.

"We needed to just forget about everything else and focus on doing the right thing (in Game 7). We did the right thing for 60 minutes. We feel pretty good about this."